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Holiday

a slice of life

apple tart recipe review – fall desserts

My mom and I leave for Paris on Saturday and I have been a bit of a crazy person the past few days. I’m pretty set when it comes to packing my suitcase, but it’s the backpack/purse I’m going to be carrying with me daily that has been causing all of the angst and I started to second-guess my plan. In a nutshell, I ended up buying two anti-theft bags and one was too small and one was the right size, but very uncomfortable. I’m returning both of them and sticking with my original plan! Does anyone else turn into a maniac and change your mind a million times before packing for a big trip?! I can’t wait until I’m all packed and out the door. I feel like then I can settle in and just be excited. Anyway, I decided I would try a French recipe before we leave,

September 7, 2018 No Comments

a slice of life

apple tart recipe review

September 6, 2018 37 Comments

a slice of life

Summer 2018 Favorites

This week is back to school week and that means I can have my work day back! Don’t get me wrong. I have enjoyed the lazy mornings, trips to visit family, movie matinees with the boys, the warmer weather for gardening and house projects, and watching the boys enjoy the freedom of summer. We had lots of playdates, sleepovers, bike rides, afternoons at the pool, and evenings at the park. They did drama camp and sports camp and Marshall did his first week-long away-from-home camp. We’ve had a great time, but it will be nice to get back to a rhythm that gives me a quiet house for a few hours each day. Other than the obvious things, like visiting our families and special time spent with the boys, I thought I would share my summer 2018 favorites… Alone Jeff started watching this reality show first and I sort of

August 27, 2018 39 Comments

All Things Home

mid-summer garden update

It’s been a few weeks since our front garden overhaul, so I thought I would give an update! First of all, everything has been a success so far. Everything is growing well and I’m enjoying checking on all of my flowers and bushes in the evenings to water, deadhead the petunias, pull weeds (although there aren’t many popping up), etc. Here is how the garden looked back in early April… And how it looks now… I can even see how much our grass has improved. It took a beating this winter from Sebastian’s pee and sidewalk salt to melt the ice. Jeff’s really been working on it this spring and summer (thatching, aerating, spreading weed & seed and lawn fertilizer, etc). It’s nice to see his hard work paying off. I found the Annabelle Hydrangeas late in the season, so they were on sale and I was able to buy

July 28, 2018 73 Comments

All Things Home

summer bed & fluffy towels

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by . As always, all opinions expressed are honest and my own. We had a late spring here in Minnesota, but summer is definitely here now. It was officially signaled by the fact that we finally kicked off our down comforter in the middle of the night. I am always eager to bring it out each fall and am reluctant to put it away when the weather warms. This year, though, it wasn’t a sad day when I folded up the thick feather decker for the summer, because now we have a from to replace it. It is the perfect weight to offer the coziness I like, but it’s breathable and light enough that we don’t wake up sweating under it. So I don’t add more bulk, I didn’t put it in a cover, but sandwiched it between the sheets and our quilt. Before I

July 26, 2018 27 Comments

a slice of life

cherry picking

I hope you had a lovely fourth of July! We invited some friends over from our church and then watched fireworks from a vantage point near our house. It was low key, but everything July 4th should be…burgers, corn on the cob, macaroni salad, sparklers, and friends. Other than that, I’ve been doing some projects around the house, like finishing the front garden, helping Jeff with organizing the garage (he’s building shelves and then I organize), trying to fix/install a new doorbell (which has been more challenging than one would have thought), making multiple trips to Home Depot for materials and supplies, and working on an unexpected, totally not-fun project that popped up on July 3. If you follow me on Instagram Stories, you know I had a funky smell in my van and came to learn it was emanating from a dead mouse. I know! I absolutely could not

July 6, 2018 52 Comments

All Things Home

front garden reveal

Other than letting everything grow, the front garden is all finished! Well, for now. I am still a novice gardener, but one thing I have learned is that gardens are dynamic and they are never done. All of the plants are in the ground, though, and I love how much curb appeal it’s added to the house. The yard and landscaping were some of the last things we worked on at our last house, so we didn’t really have a chance to finish it or enjoy seeing many of the plants mature. With this house, I wanted to start planting, so I could have hedges of boxwood and hydrangeas, a flower garden, herbs and vegetables, and all of that fun stuff. It is going to take a few years to get it all done, but we’ll work on it bit by bit each spring and fall until it’s done. We

July 3, 2018 45 Comments

All Things Home

plan for the front garden

If you missed my garden post last week, you might want to take a minute to check it out. The comment section is full of great advice, tips, and suggestions that are especially applicable and helpful if you live in zone 4. Also, this post is a continuation of that one, so it might be helpful for context. To get this post started, I thought I would share the gardens that inspired me. I love the look of the gardens designed and shared by Loi Thai of Tone on Tone. His gardens are simple and beautiful, structured, traditional, and approached almost as interior rooms with focal points, layers, textures, and a clearly established color palette. Here are a couple examples… Now, I do realize my limitations. I’m in a suburban home and some of these looks just might not work or make sense, but the overall approach can certainly apply. If

June 25, 2018 65 Comments

I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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Holiday

apple tart recipe review – fall desserts

apple tart recipe review

Summer 2018 Favorites

mid-summer garden update

summer bed & fluffy towels

cherry picking

front garden reveal

plan for the front garden

next art sale

May 20th, 2026 at 1pm EST

Now Available for Preorder

Move Slow & Make Things

From the Studio

Artful pieces for your home and everyday life.

From the Studio and Home

Shop the Feed

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